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Thursday, 9 May 2013

Pussy Riot film to open Sheffield's Doc/Fest 20

Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer

The UK
premiere of Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s compelling Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer will be the opening night film of
Sheffield Doc/Fest 20 on 12 June. Filmed over the course of six months, it tells the story of
three young women - Nadya, Masha and Katia - jailed for perfoming a 40-second “punk prayer” inside Russia's main cathedral. The
three women were arrested on charges of religious hatred.

Lerner
and Pozdorovkin of Roast Beef TV gained
unparalleled access and exclusive footage to a trial that reverberated around
the world. They also observed the three young women and their families as they fought
back against a justice system that often seemed impervious to logic.

Mike Lerner
and Maxim Pozdorovkin said: “We’re very excited and honoured to be screening
the UK premiere of our film Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer at the opening night of
Sheffield Doc/Fest. Sheffield is a natural home for our film representing as it
does a tireless support for freedom of expression, the challenging of authority
and pure Punk spirit. We're sure Pussy Riot will take the town by storm and
kick off another fantastic year for this awesome festival.”

The
screening will be followed by a Skype interview with Katia who was released in
October 2012. Nadya has just recently been denied early parole - her and Masha
are serving a two-year prison sentence in a Penal Colony.

The Summit

Sheffield
Doc/Fest, which runs from 12-16 June, will celebrate its 20th year
with a bumper line-up of documentaries, sessions and interactive programming, as well as the annual MeetMarket in the Doc/Fest marketplace.

On the eve
of the festival, Tuesday 11 June, the new Crossover Market will take place for
the very first time plus Doc/Fest delegates can take part in TEDx Sheffield. Crossover
Market, a new initiative for Doc/Fest 20, concludes the groundbreaking Devise
to Deliver (D2D) mentoring and training programme which has been held around
the country for the past seven months, delivered by Sheffield Doc/Fest and
Crossover Labs. Twenty-five interactive and digital projects, mostly but not
exclusively alumni from D2D, will pitch their projects in match-made meetings
to digital buyers and mentors.

On 12 June
the Crossover Interactive Summit, curated by Mark Atkin, will focus on ‘Transformers’,
people who want to change the world and have moved from one platform to another
to do so. It is aimed at filmmakers creating apps, doc producers moving to
social platforms, app designers making hardware and video game developers
making physical objects. The day will bring together international speakers
including Kat Cizek from Highrise, who will give the keynote speech.

The
Crossover Interactive Summit is followed at 6pm by the world premiere of The
Big Melt in the Crucible Theatre, a celebration of ‘A Century of Steel’ with
a soundtrack from Sheffield-born musician Jarvis Cocker working with
his long-time collaborator Martin Wallace. The Big Melt fuses
music and moving pictures with a soundtrack played by Jarvis Cocker and special
guest musicians. It has been commissioned by BBC Storyville and BBC North
in Association with the BFI using public funding by the National Lottery
through Arts Council England.

Jarvis Cocker

To
complete what is an opening night triptych, Doc/Fest audiences will be treated to a first
for the festival - a screening in a cave. Located in the Peak District’s ‘Devil’s
Arse ‘(Europe’s largest cave opening), the event will include a screening of
Nick Ryan’s The Summit about a fatal attempt
by several climbing expeditions to reach the peak of K2 in 2008.

“Since I
arrived seven years ago the festival has grown exponentially and we’ve done
that by making sure we stay ahead of the curve,” said festival director Heather
Croall. “At Doc/Fest we always strive to broaden the term documentary to
deliver a programme that celebrates the form across all platforms. This year I
am particularly proud that the Interactive programme is the strongest ever, and
can be seen right across the festival in speakers, sessions, docs, in The
Crossover Lounge and the first ever Crossover Market. And throughout Doc/Fest
we will present a live music and film events with some of the most exciting
musicians around.”

The editor

Creator of Pictureville. Mark has worked for over 20 years as a journalist and event producer in the cinema, film festival and related fields. He launched Cinema Business magazine and the Film Festivals Conference. He currently edits journals in the transport, planning and urban design fields, including Get Britain Cycling and Smarter Travel.